1. Field
Aspects of one or more embodiments of the present invention relate to an optical module for vibrating a light beam.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical component, such as a lens or a mirror, is generally installed after being fixed to a mount. For a square vibration mirror, the mount generally has a rotation axis about a center of the mount, and the mirror is led to rotate around (about) the rotation axis by applying a mechanical force to an edge of the mount. Alternatively, the rotation axis may be at an edge of the mount, and the mirror may be vibrated by applying a mechanical force to the opposite edge of the mount.
As described above, to form a vibrating beam, mechanical vibration is applied to a mirror such that vibration of a light beam is induced based on the mechanical vibration of the mirror. Generally, mechanical vibration is applied by a motor or a piezoelectric body (PZT).
Because an optical system is highly sensitive to vibration, vibrations may induce poor beam alignment. As a result, a light beam, such as a laser beam, needs to be regularly realigned, thereby having an adverse effect on the system and the process of applying the vibrating beam.
Furthermore, as size of a mirror increases, weight of a target to be driven increases. Therefore, a sufficient driving force for driving a relatively heavy unit is required. Generally, a driving mechanism based on a piezoelectric body has limited driving force and a drivable displacement in the range of only about hundreds of μm. Therefore, it is difficult to use a piezoelectric body in a driving mechanism that requires a relatively large displacement.